A 2003-Built Royal Caribbean Ship Just Moved Into Singapore for a Year

Royal Caribbean’s Navigator of the Seas has arrived in Singapore to begin its debut season in the region, Cruise Industry News reported on November 1. The ship, built in 2003, will sail from Singapore through October 2027, extending a season that was originally planned to be shorter. It is part of Royal Caribbean’s Asia-Pacific lineup for 2027 and 2028.

The itineraries are a mix of short and long. Two- to five-night getaways visit Penang, Phuket and Langkawi, which makes them accessible for a weekend or a few days off. A 10-night Thailand and Vietnam cruise calls at Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang and includes an overnight stay in Bangkok, while 12-night voyages connect Singapore with Tokyo through Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

More Royal Caribbean tonnage is headed to the region. According to the report, Quantum of the Seas will follow Navigator in Singapore with three- to ten-night Southeast Asia cruises from October 2027 to March 2028. Voyager of the Seas will sail from Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo from January to April 2028, and Ovation and Anthem of the Seas will operate from Brisbane and Sydney.

Ben Bouldin, Royal Caribbean’s president of Greater China and managing director for Asia, called the arrival a milestone for the company’s Asian business from a single homeport. For travelers, the practical takeaway is that a large mainstream cruise ship will be based in Southeast Asia for roughly a year, giving people in the region and visitors passing through a way to cruise without long-haul flights.

Sources: Cruise Industry News, Cruise Hive